Distractions and Diversionary Tactics
by SabreDae
Summary: When disaster strikes Jess, Becker must use all his military skills and diversionary tactics to save her. But when the time comes it's not just diversions he needs. What can he do to distract her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay so I got this idea what with all the snow we've just had in the UK. Although it's all ice now. I've been on eight treacherous journeys to and from school now. If I suddenly disappear from fanfiction, it'll be because I slipped and knocked myself out on the ice that's covering all the pavements on the hills around my house. Anyway, ignore my digression. So this idea: it kind of snowballed (no pun intended) from there on and I had to just write it. I hope you like it and remember to let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Primeval that have been used in this story. That right belongs to ITV and Impossible Pictures. Unfortunately.**

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><p><strong>Distractions and Diversionary Tactic<strong>

"Right, Miss Parker, I'm off for my meeting with the Minister. I entrust the ARC into your care. Please ensure that Captain Becker does not demolish the building. Or Connor for that matter," Lester muttered, pausing at the ADD as he made his way to the elevator.

The Minister had called a meeting with James Lester a week previously to discuss the efficiency of the ARC operation and what could be done to improve the work-expenses ratio. Lester had only grudgingly agreed to go to lunch with the Minister because of the fiasco with Philip Burton. The ARC operation had lost a substantial amount of funding with his death, and the head of the ARC was looking to get the Minister to agree to donate more funds to the organisation.

Jess, Field Co-ordinator for the company, nodded dutifully and wished him good luck in the endeavour. After doing all the paperwork, she knew exactly how much the ARC needed the money.

"Oh, before I forget," she called after him. "The snow's causing delays, so I rang ahead and told the Minster's people you might be a bit late."

"See, that's why I keep Miss Parker around," he said, looking pointedly at Connor and Matt as they walked out of the hub chatting about nothing to do with anomalies. "She's actually useful." Neither of them raised an eyebrow or made any gesture that signalled they'd heard. Muttering to himself about incompetent staff, Lester left.

Not long after he'd gone, the anomaly alert sounded and Jess began speaking into the microphone.

"Alpha unit, please come and pick up black box units. Coordinates are already loaded on them; anomaly is in the Olympic stadium. CCTV shows creatures already coming through the anomaly-"

"Hi Jess," Becker said breathlessly, as he ran up and grabbed five black boxes, throwing one each to Connor, Abby, Matt and Emily. "Keep us posted over Comms."

Jess nodded distractedly; concentrating on keeping a steady stream of video from the CCTV she'd hacked into.

"We're on our way to the stadium, Jess," Matt said over Comms as he started the 4x4's engine and pulled out of the ARC cap park.

"Thanks, Matt. The situation at the stadium is getting worse. I can see at least five creatures on the CCTV."

"Keep us posted," Becker ordered.

After ten minutes, the car screeched to a halt outside the new stadium for the 2012 London Olympics. Becker pulled his EMD rifle from his lap and slung it over his shoulder, whilst the rest of the team grabbed EMDs from the trunk and followed him into the building. There was an absence of builders working on the development and it was only a matter of months till it was meant to be ready for the event.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Becker muttered to no-one in particular.

"Jess, what about those creatures?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, what do they look like?" Connor asked, holding the handheld anomaly detector out in front of him.

"They look like raptors," Jess answered after a moment or two.

"Raptors. Great."

"Cheer up, Captain," Emily said, reaching around her back for where she'd tucked a dagger and knife into the back of her jeans.

Matt rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded like "Because that's a safe place to put them."

"Anomaly's this way, guys," Connor called, moving to the front of the group and leading the way to the anomaly. Through the corridors under the seats, they walked until they entered out onto the running track, where the anomaly hovered in the middle of the snow-covered turfed area used for the field events.

"Good job Jess isn't here or she'd ruin the turf in those heels," Matt joked to Becker who smirked slightly. He'd always thought her choice of shoes was ridiculous, not to mention impractical.

"Or she'd disappear beneath the snow," Connor added, joining in."

"Hey," Jess said over the comms, not sounding all that affronted. "I heard that. If you're done making jokes about my height and footwear, you might like to know that I've lost the CCTV feed."

"Can you get it back?" Becker asked.

"Can I get it back? Of course I can get it back! What do you take me for? A bimbo secretary?" She snapped, sounding truly insulted now.

Matt snickered quietly to himself, nobody else seeming to pay him any attention whilst Becker worried that they had offended Jess. He was sure he could cheer her up again if needs be. A simple bar of chocolate, probably something like Galaxy, would make her happy again. It always did. If he was feeling generous, Becker could also buy her a dark chocolate Toblerone – Jess had eaten a _lot _of those over the Christmas period so she had to like them, right?

"Where did you say the creatures were, Jess?" Abby asked, staring around. She still couldn't shake the bad feeling that was hanging over them like a dark rain cloud.

Becker looked around and tightened his grip on his EMD, realising why things were feeling so odd. Usually when they went out on an alert, within five minutes they'd either seen a person, a body, a creature or at least heard signs of life. The Olympic stadium was completely quiet, which was disturbing considering it was still a building site.

His heart beating a mile a minute, Becker slowly turned on his heel and came face to face with a pack of five raptors, each poised to leap on a member of the team.

He gulped and signalled the others.

"Don't make a sound and move slowly," he instructed.

Emily couldn't help the gasp that tumbled from her open mouth, and dropping her knife. It fell into the snow with a soft slick.

At the sound of it, one of the raptors cocked its head and growled, taking a hopping step forwards. Without any hesitation, Becker fired three quick bursts of electric pulses at the offending creature, scrambling backwards as the creature in question fell forwards and its fellows leapt over the body towards him, gouging marks in the new AstroTurf.

Luckily for him, Matt and Abby were quick to raise their EMDs, whilst Emily threw her dagger, and somehow they brought down the other four raptors. Connor, on the other hand, fumbled with his EMD, his fingerless gloves sliding over the smooth metal and not giving him any grip.

"Well, that was a close shave," Connor said with a low whistle.

"Come on," Matt replied, taking charge. "Let's put these back through the anomaly and then lock it."

Becker nodded, but kept his EMD at the ready for a few moments longer before shouldering it and helping Matt drag one of the unconscious beasts to the anomaly.

"Isn't there an easier way?" Connor moaned, dragging a raptor with Emily and Abby. Whilst Abby and Emily had suffered in silence with the weight of the dinosaur, Connor hadn't stopped complaining about his aching arm muscles.

"Why don't you go and look for a trolley then?" Matt huffed, out of breath as they finally managed to roll the first creature through the anomaly and moved on to help Abby and Emily.

Connor nodded and stumbled away, slipping on a spot of ice on top of the running track.

"I'm okay!" he yelled, though no-one seemed to be particularly bothered or concerned for him.

Pausing briefly, and allowing Becker to carry on helping the girls pull the raptor by its back legs, Matt tapped his earpiece.

"Jess, any more creatures about?"

"I've been keeping an eye on the CCTV but I'll go through it again, see if anything's out of place. Also there's an issue in the storage room. I can direct you there," she offered, her fingers already typing instructions into the ADD to pull up the CCTV feeds again, the window popping up on top of the digital blueprint of the stadium.

"What kind of issue?"

"The kind of issue that would make Connor soil his trousers," Jess lightly replied, feeling sick from just seeing it on the computer screen.

Matt stifled a laugh and replied, "Thanks, Jess, we'll just finish up with getting these raptors back through and locking the anomaly."

"What was that about Connor?" Abby asked, huffing and puffing like the rest of them, as she dusted off her hands and walked back to the three remaining raptors.

"According to Jess, who wasn't very forthcoming, there's something that would give him a bit of a fright in the storage room…"

Abby frowned and began to worry.

Matt bent down and took hold of another raptors leg, ensuring he avoided the long claws curving towards his inner arm and began dragging again. His back protested, but he ignored it and instead focused on thoughts of how he might coax a massage out of Emily when they got back to the ARC and collapsed in the Rec room.

Finally, Connor returned with a trolley – though why the Olympic stadium even had one, nobody knew – and they loaded up the last raptor onto it, though actually lifting it off the ground was a lot harder than simply dragging them over the snow.

Though their arms no longer felt like they were being pulled from their sockets, the team had great difficulty in actually pushing the trolley through the deep thirty centimetres of snow they were stood in. Only Becker wore boots with enough grip to push without falling over.

Sweating despite the bitter, winter chill, they finally made it to the anomaly and took a minute's respite. Connor blinked and rested his hands on his knees, desperate to get more oxygen into his aching body. He was beginning to really regret falling over all those times. Becker wiped his damp forehead and adjusted his EMD across his back. It had been threatening to fall over his shoulder for the last ten minutes, and it was only his superior level of control over his body's movements that kept it from swinging down.

"Right then, the last push guys," Matt said, trying to encourage his team.

They all groaned and threw him a dirty look, but nonetheless threw their weight back behind the trolley…just as the anomaly flickered out of existence and closed, leaving them with a raptor.

"Now what are we going to do with it?" Becker asked, angrily kicking the snow.

Matt shrugged.

"Well we can't leave it here," Emily murmured, her hands on her hips as she searched for a solution to their predicament.

"We'll have to keep it sedated and take it back to the ARC," Abby said, stating the obvious.

"Lester is _not _gonna be happy," Connor muttered, still breathing heavily.

Jess' voice suddenly came over the comms.

"I've cleared it with him. He's given his authorisation for Sid and Nancy to vacate the ARC to stay with you, Abby and Connor, to create space for our carnivorous friends."

"Excellent," Abby grinned, hi-fiving Connor.

"Right, Abby, head back to the ARC to sort out the transition. Connor, go with her," Matt ordered.

The couple nodded and made their way through the snow, walking gingerly on their sore legs.

"I'll send back up to man the anomaly site, and bring an extra car and a van," Jess interrupted before making the order over the ARC's internal communications system.

"Becker, you're in charge of transporting Tooth and Claw here, but give Abby and Connor enough time to get sorted." Becker nodded, gritting his teeth at Matt's tone and presumption that he could tell the Head of Security what to do. "Oh, but don't wait too long, or he'll come round."

"When am I supposed to leave then?" Becker muttered to himself.

Emily stayed by Matt's side, wondering why they were to stay at the stadium when Jessica had already told them back-up was on the way.

"Right let's go check out the storage room."

"Storage room?"

Matt nodded in answer to Emily's question and set off towards the exit to go back under the seats.

Emily followed him, still confused as to the purpose of their remaining behind. When they got to the storage room, and it became clear, she wished she was still ignorant.

Revulsion washed over her at the sight of the ten dead mean, each with deep gashes in their flesh and blood stains on their fluorescent workmen's jackets. All of the workers had been slaughtered, most likely chased down through the stadium into the storage room where they had hoped to hide before being massacred. Emily shut her eyes, not wanting to see it anymore.

Matt wasn't unaffected either, but it was something he had become accustomed to seeing. Sometimes, even though they tried their hardest, the ARC staff couldn't save everyone.

He tapped his comms and asked Jess to send down a unit to recover the bodies and take them to a morgue for identification. Jess did as he asked and began thinking of a cover story to explain their deaths. She didn't enjoy doing it – she would much rather have been able to tell the next of kin the truth, but if she did, Lester wouldn't hesitate to fire her.

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><p>Meanwhile Becker was driving his van back to the ARC, very aware of the danger lurking in the back. He was desperate to make it there before it woke up.<p>

"Jess, can you give me an update on Abby and Connor's progress?"

"They've just made it back to the ARC and are moving out Sid and Nancy now. Feel free to floor the accelerator like I know you've been itching to since you got in the van."

Becker's eyes widened as he contemplated how Jess seemed to know him inside out. He'd spent months observing people at the ARC and didn't know half as much about them as she knew about him.

Becker's foot pushed the accelerator pedal and the transit van began to pick up speed as he sped down the motorway, racing back to the ARC. At every bump in the road, he pricked his ears, certain that the raptor would have woken up. His only protection was the EMD he had sitting on the passenger seat. His luck, however, held and he reached the ARC without any disasters, although he had had a heart-stopping moment when the van's wheels had caught on some ice and the whole van had threatened to tip over.

His men waited at the exit of the underground car park, and took over taking the raptor through to the menagerie, leaving Becker free to go and see Jess at the ADD.

Even though the anomaly alert was over, she was still hard at work, documenting what had occurred, whilst running a full diagnostic on all the ARC's systems, checking through the stadium's CCTV that the police line was being enforced and all whilst trying to talk down a very irritated Lester over the phone.

Becker marvelled at it.

Jess saw Becker hovering at the edge of her field of vision and acknowledged him with a blinding smile before refocusing back on the ADD screen.

The ARC CCTV cameras patched in and showed the footage, as the computer was programmed to do every ten minutes. Jess dropped her pen and gasped in horror, as in live action she saw the raptor leap off the moving trolley and take down a man. Taken unawares, Becker's men were fighting a losing battle. In the cramped space of the corridor, the raptor was able to jump off the walls and evade EMD bolts before landing on the men, either knocking them unconscious of grievously injuring them. Stunned, Jess, watched and forgot all about instigating the lockdown procedure.

Ever since the Beetles' invasion of the ARC, the system had been revised and had to be manually set off from the ADD. Jess, Lester and the core team all had pass codes for such a feat, in the hopes that only those who could be trusted could shut down the ARC. But no-one had accounted for the problem that it could only be done from the ADD and whilst Jess was frozen in the seat – the only person to have seen the attack – no-one else could instigate the lockdown that was needed to save the rest of the ARC personnel from the velociraptor.

"You okay, Jess?" Becker asked, noticing her sudden silence and moving towards the ADD.

Jess jumped and slapped a button on the computer, tears prickling her eyes.

"Lockdown initiated," announced an electronic voice over the ARC's internal sound system.

The ADD screen turned black and the CCTV feed was lost as all the ARC's systems began to shut down. The doors systematically began closing, beginning furthest away from the Hub, locking Abby and Connor in the Menagerie where they still waited for the arrival of the raptor. Frowning, Abby tapped her communications unit and spoke.

"Jess? What's going on?"

There was no answer.

Connor smacked his palm into his head. "Crap! I knew there was something else I was meant to do! I was meant to disconnect the communications from the rest of the ARC's power circuit so we could still use them in a lockdown!" Annoyed with himself, Connor sat down on the floor with a huff, Rex swooping down to climb into his lap.

"Connor," Abby sighed. In fairness, she supposed, it wasn't his fault. He'd been so overworked in the aftermath of New Dawn, whilst he was completely destroying Burton's research and any errant machinery that he forgot about parts of his work on the lockdown procedure.

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><p>"Lockdown? Jess, why've you initiated lockdown? What's going on?" Becker demanded.<p>

Speechless, Jess simply shook her head. Across her ADD screen, the words 'lockdown initiated' stood out in bold, red letters, but she still couldn't quite comprehend all that was going on.

"Jess!" Becker said more insistently.

"Y-your men…" she stuttered.

"What about my men?" he asked, desperate for information.

"T-the r-raptor…" Jess suddenly replied, eyes wide and her finger pointing behind him.

Dread seized Becker's heart and he turned to find himself face to face with his old friend, Tooth and Claw, and he did not look pleased to see him again.

"Jess, stay behind me," he ordered quietly not turning to look at her or even wait for an answer.

Jess squeaked and nodded, still sat in her chair, completely incapable of movement.

Slowly, Becker reached over his shoulder, expecting to feel the end of his EMD which he usually carried into the ARC with him, before remembering with a curse that he'd left it in the van. His eagerness to see Jess had caused him to make a mistake. Not that he would ever hold it against the young Field Coordinator, of course. She was too innocent and unassuming for that.

The raptor made a series of noises that sounded suspiciously like it was laughing at Becker before stalking further into the room. Becker glanced beyond the danger at the locked door and wished beyond belief that the lockdown had only been initiated mere minutes earlier. Then Jess wouldn't be trapped with a creature and a useless Head of Security who'd managed to leave their only protection outside.

His face set with grim determination, Becker strode forwards, acting as a diversion to take any and all attention away from the young brunette behind him.

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><p>Matt and Emily pulled up outside the ARC in one of the 4x4s already extremely worried about what was going on in the ARC. Twenty minutes previously, the car's Satnav had turned off. Puzzled, Emily had tried to speak to Jess over the comms and found she was only receiving static.<p>

Though there were still some of Becker's men at the entrances to both the underground car park and the building itself, Matt couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong. He looked about him, but couldn't see anyone looking or anything out of place.

It was only as he swiped his wrist pass in front of the door for the ARC that he realised what was wrong. The electric monitor beside the door had no display. The security system was turned off. Matt knew in an instant that lockdown had been initiated, and pulled out his mobile, dialling the first number he had on speed dial.

"Connor!" he shouted into the phone the moment the line connected. "Where are you?"

"Stuck in the Menagerie with Abs," Connor answered, scratching Rex's chin as the lizard chirped happily. For once, thought Connor wryly, Rex hadn't caused the lockdown.

"What happened? Why are we in lockdown?"

"I've got no idea, mate. The lights and all electrics are down too. Me and Abs haven't been able to get onto the comms-"

"I thought you were going to sort that out months ago…"

"I forgot," Connor admitted.

"Well can you sort out trying to lift it?"

"What am I going to from inside the menagerie?"

"Well, how did you and Jess modify the system?" Matt answered, beginning to think it was hopeless.

"Well we took out the bio-scanner first. Then we got rid of the whole sucking out the oxygen procedure and destroyed any link between the ARC and what was left of Prospero…and we made sure only the ADD could initiate the lockdown," Connor answered simply, feeling Abby's eyes on him. He shot her a brief, worried smile and refocused on Matt.

"Good, but what else? There's got to be something we can do!"

"Oh my God! How could I have been so stupid?" Connor exclaimed in glee.

"What, Connor? What did you do?" Matt asked sharply.

"We built another back door!"

"Where?" Matt demanded, his heart racing.

"We sent an encrypted file to all core personnel and disguised it as a boring memo from Lester. Your ARC email account should have it, Matt, as does mine, Jess', Abby's Emily's, Lester's and Becker's!"

Matt winced. "I may have deleted that…"

"Try leconnortemple at Hotmail dot com. I sent my copy to my personal email address as well," Connor instructed.

Matt took Emily's phone and brought up the internet, quickly using his fingers on the touchscreen to get to Window's Live. "What's your password, mate?"

"AbbyTemple," Connor answered with only a moment's pause. Again he was aware of his fiancée's gaze upon him and turned to her as she pressed her lips to his cheek.

"I've got it!" Matt crowed.

"Download it and run it. I designed the file to work on any system. You'll have to unlock each door one by one but it should work," Connor instructed. "Hurry up though! I'm freezing my arse off in here." With that Connor hung up and squeezed Abby's hand. "We're getting out of here."

"You're amazing, Conn," Abby told him sincerely, kissing him again. She still sometimes wondered how Connor, her love, always managed to save the day given that he could be a bumbling idiot at times. Still, she loved him for all his faults and the heroic status only served to remind her how truly good he was.

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><p>Becker groaned and shivered. When had it gotten so cold? He felt like he was lying in snow in the process of completing a naked snow angel. Rolling over, his head spun and he resisted the urge to heave. His head pounded like he'd been hit by a lorry as he struggled onto his hands and knees on the hard ARC floor.<p>

Somehow he managed to stagger to his feet and held onto one of the glass work tables for support. Raising one hand to his head, he winced and felt the sticky substance that could only be blood oozing from a lengthy cut. His vision was blurred as he looked around and recognised the hub around him.

Although the room was certainly in the worst shape he'd ever seen. Jess' leather chair had been knocked onto its side, the ADD overturned and the table that usually held its weight scarred in scratches. Blood lay in a pool on the floor – his, he guessed.

What the hell had happened?

**s**

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><p><strong>So…where's Jess? And what happened to Becker? All will be revealed in the next (and final) chapter!<strong>

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><p><strong>AN: Also, my DVD of series 5 came today! *Happiness* I hope you enjoyed this. It was a oneshot but it was getting too long, so I've split it into two chapters. You'll have to wait a bit for the rest. Review and let me know what you thought about it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: SAndyLeePotts, YouHaveLovelyHair, Heyarandomgal, Sarcastic-Bones, we have an anomaly, Prawn Crackers and Mijo54: thanks so much for those reviews! Also, thank you to MoutieGirl, Binnie-Bunny, nsane1, Kedern, Rawwwwwr, teparry and EmmaL94 for adding this story to their alerts/favourites. I'd love to hear what you think of the story though! (On a side note, I'm still alive! And surprisingly, I haven't even slipped on any ice and fallen over like Connor did in chapter 1.) Anyway, here's chapter 2, I hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>What the hell had happened?<p>

As he turned around, examining the state of the room, his hazel eyes caught onto a bizarre sight. Slumped against the wall behind him, lay a raptor (though what it was doing in the Hub, he had no idea) with what looked like a chair leg stabbed through its neck. Stumbling forwards and around the table, Becker went for a closer inspection. Only, he never made it to the creature. Instead he tripped over something lying at his feet and found himself lying on top of a body.

Reeling, Becker found he had fallen on top of Jess. Tiny, auburn-haired, smiling Jess. Perfect Jess. Jess whose skin was now startlingly white and cold. A streak of blood coated her cheek and her arm was bent at an odd angle.

"Becker?" she asked in a weak whisper.

Gasping, Becker's memory came back to him.

_He remembered striding purposefully forwards and taking up his protective stance in front of Jess. He remembered the beast's gargantuan strength, so much stronger than him. It was quick and agile too, easily gaining the upper hand when Becker didn't even have a knife to defend himself with. _

_It circled him, lunging with snapping jaws and flying claws every now and again. And though Becker always managed to either dodge the attack or kick at the thing, he couldn't help but feel the raptor was toying with him. _

_He managed a few punches, though it felt like his hand was hitting a solid wall and he soon learned not to use the tactic. His knuckles still bore the marks and were covered in dried blood._

_As he flung his aching hand about, hissing in pain after the last punch, Jess made to aid him. She probably wanted to check his hand, but as her heeled shoe hit the ground, the raptor turned sharply towards her. Its claws clacked on the polished floor as it came at her. Using all his strength, Becker grabbed the thing around the neck, ignoring its rearing head as tried to snap his head off, and hurled himself and the raptor into a wall, right on top of the ARC's fuse box. Light flared behind his eyes and his head spun dangerously as he stumbled away, trying to clear his head. An electric spark filled the air and the lights flickered off, leaving the room in gloomy darkness._

_Unseen, the velociraptor collided with his side and knocked him to the ground where he knew no more. _

"Jess," Becker called urgently.

She mumbled something and closed her eyes.

"No, don't go to sleep," he told her, shaking her slightly by the arms.

God, she's cold, he thought anxiously, shrugging out of his black camouflage jacket and placing it around her shoulders.

"Jess, you can't go to sleep."

She seemed to be completely ignoring him.

"Jess, what can I do to keep you awake?" he asked more to himself than her.

Sleepily, she murmured, "Take your shirt off…"

Becker gave a shaky laugh and lay down beside her, carefully wrapping his arms around her – desperate to avoid moving her when she was injured – and using his body heat to keep her warm.

Jess sighed, as she was ensconced in warmth suddenly. Her nose was filled with Becker's soft aftershave, the scent she had come to love and she couldn't help turning her head to face him to get a better sniff of it.

He ran his hands up and down her slim arms, trying to keep them warm.

"Jess, why can't you ever wear trousers or anything with long sleeves?" he complained as he tangled his legs with hers hoping to shield them from the cold that way.

Again, she mumbled something, but this time Becker didn't catch what it was.

He shivered, and regretted throwing himself at the ARC's electric system. With no heating, the sub-zero temperatures of winter were seeping into the airy, already cool building. Sometimes, he really didn't use his common sense.

Jess' breathing began to even out and Becker called her name loudly.

"What?" she asked grumpily, seeming to regain some life. She just wanted to be able to sleep. She was so tired, and her eyes were fluttering closed, only to be opened every time Becker spoke.

"I have to something to say," Becker blurted unthinkingly, willing to do anything to distract her from sleep. He nosed her hair, taking in her floral, fruity smell and took a deep breath. If ever was the time to do it, it was now, he told himself. "Will you go out with me?"

Jess was silent for a moment and Becker feared the worst.

"Will you?"

"Why?" she asked, her voice small again.

"Because…I owe you after you bought that Chinese," he offered lamely.

"Is that the only reason?" she asked hopefully.

"Ye-no," Becker admitted. If Jess was to die, he couldn't bear the thought of lying to her. "I-I don't know how to say this. I-I _like _you, Jessica Parker."

"You do?"

Becker nodded and then realised she wouldn't have seen him in the absence of light.

Clearing his throat, he answered, "How could I not? Hm? You stroll into the ARC dressed in the most ridiculously inappropriate clothing, skirts that are barely there, and expect me not to notice. You have no idea how much self-control it takes to not jump you, Jess." He paused as she chuckled and apologised. "Then, as if that wasn't enough, you smile at everyone and are always cheerful. You do my paperwork and keep us alive. You welcome us back like we're members of your family. You…you're just _you._"

"Okay," she finally answered, working to keep her voice calm whilst she was screaming on the inside.

"Is that okay you'll go out with me or okay as in you accept my reasons for liking you?" he asked in confusion.

"Okay as in I'll go out with you." If Jess hadn't been so tired she'd have been laughing.

"You will?"

"Sure," she replied. "You have nice hair." Her uninjured arm reached up and her hand lightly touched his front quiff. He was sure she was smiling; he just wished he could see.

Becker laughed, remembering the last time she'd said that. She'd been in danger then too. Though this time there was no magic injection he could give her. This time there was nothing he could do to help at all. He was no medic; sure he had basic first aid training from his time in the Armed Forces, but that was it.

If only the goddamn lockdown could be lifted then he would be able to get her to the ARC medics. But somehow, after he'd been knocked unconscious the ADD had been ruined. Besides there was no power anyway.

Becker had always known that working at the ARC would kill him; but he assumed he'd die from being attacked by a creature, not being trapped in the building with no food or water.

Suddenly, the door hissed open and torch light swung over them.

Becker squinted up at it, the glare of the light stopping him from seeing the person's face.

"Need a hand?" a man asked in an Irish accent.

"Matt!" Becker exclaimed in relief. "Jess is hurt. I need you to get a medic!"

Becker felt her body go limp in his arms and shouted, "Jess!"

Matt swung the torch over Jess' body and gulped at the amount of blood coating the sleeping FCO. It was almost as bad as the workmen at the stadium.

He pulled a walkie-talkie off the waistband of his trousers and said, "Matt to Emily, I need the medics sent to the Hub, over."

Emily's voice came clearly over the connection and replied, "They're on their way, over and out."

Becker and Matt waited in terse silence until the medics ran through the door, each holding a torch, and began examining Jess. One of them pulled Becker away and set about checking his head, despite his protests that he was fine and it was Jess they needed to worry about.

The entire time his eyes didn't leave her. Except for when they ripped open her dress to better access her wounds and he found himself blushing, gulping and turning away.

Some time during the fifteen minutes that followed, Connor walked in, followed by Abby. The pair of them froze when they saw Jess, the kind girl who had let them stay in her flat when she didn't even know them. Connor reached back for Abby's hand, wiped his eyes on the back of his other wrist and moved to the fuse box, ready to try and restore the electricity. If Jess needed surgery, she wouldn't have a hope without it.

Becker's breathing was erratic with worry, and eventually he couldn't stop himself from joining the medics around her and taking her hand.

Silently, Connor worked on the fuse box, never once asking what on earth Becker had done to it, though he craved to. His efforts were rewarded with the lights coming back on with a buzz. Better able to see what they were doing, the medics worked manically on Jess, terrified of the Captain's anger if she should die.

Everyone could see how much he cared, but no-one tried to console him until Emily stepped into the room, kissed Matt briefly and then went to stand behind Becker in support, squeezing his shoulder.

The medics worked on Jess continuously, only quietly talking to each other as they applied pressure to wounds, sewed up some more superficial cuts and grazes, cleaned the blood from her skin and put her arm in a splint.

"What the bloody hell happened in here?" Lester demanded, suddenly appearing in the room. He stopped short at the sight of his best employee lying unconscious on the ground with the team gathered around her. "Well?" he said, rather less abrasive than before.

Matt took him aside and explained what he knew, but even that wasn't much.

Becker tightened his grip around Jess' hand trying to bring her back that way. It didn't look positive, and though he didn't understand anything the medics were saying, he knew they didn't rate Jess' chances either.

Finally, she was ready to be lifted onto a gurney and wheeled down to the ARC hospital for her more serious wounds, like those to her stomach, to be addressed.

Becker tried to follow her but one of the medics drew him aside.

"We're taking her into surgery so for health and safety reasons you can't come in with Miss Parker."

"Is she going to be okay?" Becker asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"We think she'll pull through. You made all the difference by keeping her awake for as long as you did."

Becker nodded, still feeling like he should have done more.

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later Jess was released from surgery. Becker had paced the corridor outside the entire time, unable to sit still, and as soon as the doctors let him, he sat by her bedside, holding her hand. She was still pale – from blood loss the medics told him – but her hand was a lot warmer than before. It gave Becker hope that she would wake up soon.<p>

The doctors had closed up all internal bleeding and every wound she had, wrapping much of her in bandages, including her arm which was given a proper cast.

What would he do if she died? He would only remember the words he'd always been unable to say. They were all he could hear in the silence of the room. The only other sound to be heard, was the soft noise of Jess breathing. At least she wasn't on a ventilator, Becker thought, grateful for small mercies.

He'd had his whole world wrapped inside his arms and still hadn't confessed the full truth. It had been on the tip of his tongue, and he just hadn't been able to get it out. Boy, did he regret it now. And he had no-one else to blame but himself. Captain Hilary James Becker didn't just like Jess, he loved her.

"Jess, I love you," he murmured, only really telling himself as Jess was still under the influence of anaesthetic and couldn't hear him.

* * *

><p>Outside, Lester was talking to the medic, getting the full rundown of Jess' injuries and how long it would take her to recover. It seemed she would be missing from work for a full three weeks.<p>

Connor and Abby sat side by side, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand wrapped in his on her knee. Both were asleep, though Connor's mouth hung open as his head lolled back over the chair to lean against the wall. Matt had done a better job of staying awake at the late hour and continually sipped coffee to keep himself alert.

Emily quietly talked to him, still filled with worry for young Jessica, who had so kindly taken the time to help her settle into the 21st century and still came shopping with her.

"I hope she's okay," Emily repeated for the millionth time.

"I'm sure she will be – we've got the best doctors and surgeons here, remember?"

Emily nodded and shuffled closer to him. His arm came up and around her shoulders, where she fitted perfectly into his body. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, noticing how wet her warm, brown eyes looked. But it was impossible to tell if she was on the verge of tears. Emily's eyes always had been expressive that way. It was one of the things that had captured his attentions.

Now that Becker was inside the hospital room, Lester appeared to have taken over his pacing duties, his usually impassive face twisted with worry. Matt said nothing over the ARC director's apparent lack of composure. They all knew that Lester cared for Jess, certainly more than he liked the rest of them. It was almost like she was his niece, the way Lester reserved his sarcastic comments for everyone else.

Regardless, despite his sardonic front, Lester did have a heart and he was always pained by the injuries, deaths and disappearances of his staff. He'd even come to view Connor as a son of sorts. An annoying one that came with a lot of baggage and nerdy awkwardness at that.

* * *

><p>Becker's anxiety continued to mount as he waited impatiently for Jess to wake up.<p>

He didn't know when, but at some point he had taken to running his fingers up and down her uninjured arm. Now he was sat with her hand clasped between two of his and every so often pressed kisses to it. He was barely even aware he was doing it.

Finally, his hours of sleep deprivation caught up with him and he fell asleep, his head resting on the mattress beside Jess. In sleep, the lines of worry smoothed away and a gentle snore took hold of him.

* * *

><p>Abby jerked awake as Lester sat down in the vacant chair beside her. Yawning, she wiped her eyes and turned to him.<p>

"What time is it?"

Seemingly too tired for a sarcastic retort, Lester replied, "Just gone five in the morning."

Abby nodded and yawned again, accidentally elbowing Connor as she tried to stretch in the enclosed space of his arms.

Connor blinked a few times and looking down blearily eyed at her.

"Whatsa matter?"

His eyelids fell closed again, before he sniffed, and let go of Abby to properly rub his eyes.

"Morning," he mumbled to his fiancée, kissing the top of her head. "I'll go get coffees, shall I?"

Abby nodded gratefully and turned back to Lester.

"How is she?"

The old man wearily shook his head. He looked haggard with his shirt untucked, his tie loosened and his eyes bloodshot with tiredness, a picture far from his usual immaculate appearance.

"The surgeons tell me that it's all down to her now. They've done as much as they can, Jess needs her willpower to pull through."

Abby smiled softly. "She'll be fine then," she asserted.

Lester shot her a confused look and glanced back at the doors that separated them from Jess and Becker.

"Nothing, not even death, will keep Jess from Becker."

"Are you telling me that my FCO and my Head of Security are fraternising?"

"Becker? And Jess? Hardly. They've been tiptoeing about one another for months though. The only ones who can't tell that they like _each other_ are Jess and Becker," Abby explained, as Connor returned with three cups of black coffee.

Lester took his wordlessly and sipped it.

"Yeah, I don't think Becker could be any more oblivious to Jess' sudden nonsensical rambling whenever he's around."

"Nonsensical rambling?" Lester muttered to himself, wondering how he could have failed to notice.

"Mm hm," Connor replied through a mouthful of coffee.

"What about all that chocolate Becker always brings Jess though?" Abby asked with raised eyebrows.

"I've heard enough," Lester declared as he stood. "Regrettably I must inform the minister of this." Nodding once to Connor and Abby, he walked away down the corridor and locked himself in his office, taking off his suit jacket and swinging it over the back of his chair.

Really, he honestly couldn't believe that his staff had so insistently ignored the ARC standards on internal relationships. First Abby and Connor, though an exception had been made for them because they'd been absent when the rule was implemented, then Matt and the young Miss Merchant, and now Captain Becker and Miss Parker.

Sighing, and wishing he could have stayed to find out the news on Jessica, he pulled the telephone towards him and dialled for the Home Office. The minister was _not _going to be in a good mood.

* * *

><p>Becker woke gently, remembering the hand that had run through his hair, smoothing it down and tickling his scalp with perfectly rounded nails.<p>

The dream was too good to be true, he thought, as he remembered lying with his head resting on Jess' naked stomach with his arms wrapped possessively around her torso.

Again, the feeling of nimble fingers in his hair came and he opened his eyes in confusion, finding Jess awake and looking at the wall as she absently touched his lovely hair.

"Jess?" he asked in disbelief, his voice seeming more high-pitched than ever before.

Embarrassed, she removed her hand and glanced down at him, where his head still rested atop his folded arms on her mattress.

"You're okay," he whispered, still smiling genuinely.

Jess nodded. "Thanks to you, I believe."

Becker shrugged, feeling guilty that she'd even been injured in the first place. Only an idiot would take out the lights when there was a dinosaur in the building.

Jess itched to ask him about whether he'd meant it when he said he liked her, whilst Becker found himself wondering if she even remembered anything that had been said between them. Not only that, but he was desperate to tell her the whole truth.

"About in the hub-" Becker began just as Jess opened her mouth and asked, "Did you mean it-"

"Ladies first," Becker muttered nervously, his heart racing as surely as if he had adrenaline running in his veins as he fired one of his beloved guns.

Jess nodded and breathed deeply. Could she even ask? What if he'd only said it to keep her awake and didn't really mean it.

She opened her mouth and then closed it again, unable to find the words to ask him.

"Jess, whatever it is, you can tell me," Becker told her, gently squeezing her hand to reassure her.

She nodded and asked quietly, "Do you really like me?"

Becker nodded without hesitation, and then breathed into her ear. "I think I even love you."

Jess couldn't help herself as she pressed her lips briefly against his before drawing back in shock at her bold actions.

Before she could apologise, Becker leant down to capture her lips, just as the door creaked open, admitting a creeping Abby and Connor into the room. Matt and Emily followed, all smiling at the sight of Jess alive and looking more like her usual self as her smile took her over her entire face. Despite the absence of her bright and mismatched clothes, Jess' face looked as cheerful as ever.

"Hey, Jess," they chorused as they came closer. Disgruntled, Becker sat back down and huffed. Only Abby, Connor and Matt could interrupt a moment like the one that had been about to happen.

As the rest of the team asked Jess how she was, Becker zoned out and was quite surprised to suddenly find Lester in the room, asking him to get back to work.

Reluctantly, the team left Jess to rest, as Lester took a place at her bedside.

* * *

><p>Watching Becker go, Jess felt her heart finally begin to slow. It was lucky she wasn't attached to a heart monitor.<p>

"Well, Jess, you gave us quite a scare," Lester began.

Since leaving the ARC hospital though, he had straightened up and put on a new suit. He no longer looked like he'd been dragged to hell and back.

"Sorry," Jess replied. "I bet you were worried for your jag with that raptor on the loose."

"Quite," he told her, though his soft eyes said the opposite.

Lester stayed with her for a few minutes, before his mobile rang and he had to excuse himself to talk with his wife. As soon as he snapped the phone open and her voice rang out, he rolled his eyes sarcastically and mouthed goodbye to his favourite employee.

The day Jessica Parker had interviewed for the Field Coordinator position, had been a good day. Without her, the ARC organisation would have collapsed long ago.

Jess' day was long and boring. The doctors and nurses passed through to check her vitals and record notes, ask her a few questions to check her memory, but mostly she was left alone to rest and recuperate. How they expected her to do it when she knew that the team could be out on an alert without her at the ADD, she didn't know. What if something happened? She could only hope that it would be a quiet day.

Luckily for her, Becker snuck back in with a magazine and a Crunchy Bar, but even those couldn't keep her indefinitely entertained. In his bag of goodies, he'd also stuck in a bowl of grapes and a 'get well soon' teddy.

Finally, at the end of the day, the ARC medics released her, stating that she would recover quicker in her own environment where she would be more comfortable. She wasn't, however, allowed to drive herself home on account of the drugs present in her system. As she stiffly walked out of the hospital, dressed back in her own clothes – albeit not the ruined ones she had arrived at the ARC in – intent on finding Abby and Connor and pestering them for a lift, she came face to face with Becker.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, with his eyebrows raised in humour.

"Home," she offered as an answer.

"Not without me, you're not. I'm officially your designated driver."

Jess hid a smile and followed him down the corridor.

"Can we stop off at my locker a second?"

Becker nodded and then insisted on carrying her bag as they walked to the lift. Once in the car, Jess closed her eyes and tried not to think about how close Becker's hand was as it settled on her chair.

The true gentleman, Becker also insisted on opening the doors for Jess when they reached her flat. The front door was no problem, but as they reached the top of the stairs Jess had to caution Becker to be careful when he unlocked her flat door.

"Why?"

"Annabelle," Jess answered ambiguously.

Shrugging, Becker unlocked her door and almost jumped as he felt something brush past his leg.

"Hey, Annabelle," Jess said happily as she picked up the fluffy lump.

"What on earth is Annabelle?" Becker asked, walking into her home and depositing her bags on the sofa. He leaned back against it to look at her and the ball of fluff as she closed the door behind her, still carrying the large, black thing.

Jess laughed, carefree and easy. "She's my house rabbit," she explained as she let the rabbit back on the ground. "Abby convinced me to buy her. She was in the Adoption Centre in Pets at Home when we bought reptile food for Rex once." Annabelle lolloped towards Becker and sniffed at his boots before leaning up and pawing at his legs like a dog might.

Jess rolled her eyes. "She likes you."

"So it would seem," Becker muttered, bending to ruffle the incredibly soft fur and stroke the rabbit's floppy ears.

Jess laughed at his unimpressed tone and sat on her sofa, feeling exhausted.

Becker soon joined her, though he had to deal with the heavy rabbit sitting on his lap, as he finally kissed Jess and tried to distract her from how tired and achy she felt.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed this story. I'd love to know your thoughts on it so hit that review button. **

**Some of you may have noticed that the lines where Becker is waiting by Jess' bedside bear a large resemblance to a certain song. I was listening to Words I Couldn't Say by Rascal Flatts (although you might know it from 'Country Strong' if you've seen that film, as Leighton Meester's character sings it) as I wrote much of this chapter, and the lyrics fitted so well with the scene. I'd recommend listening to it. Incidentally, as I've just noticed, the song was composed by someone who shares the same surname as our beloved Head of Security. **

**I also want to say a quick thank you to Sarcastic-Bones and You Have Lovely Hair for their advice and extra encouragement.**

**Lastly, I was so eager to upload this chapter, that I didn't read over it for typos. If you spot any, please do let me know!**

**THANKS FOR READING!  
><strong>


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